The Offer

Mountain America Credit Union is offering a $150 bonus when you open a new MyStyle Checking account when you complete the following requirements:

Use promo code MACUGG

Sign up for eStatements at account set up

Initiate a monthly direct deposit such as payroll, pension, unemployment, social security or other government benefits within 60 days of coupon redemption

The Fine Print

To qualify for and redeem reward, you must sign up for eStatements at account setup and initiate a monthly direct deposit such as payroll, pension, unemployment, Social Security or other government benefits within 60 days of coupon redemption.

Reward will be deposited into account within 30 business days after eStatement setup and initial direct deposit posting.

Account must remain open for minimum of six months from reward date, or it will be debited from account at closing.

Limit one reward per person, per household.

Offer not available on MyFree CheckingSM, secondary accounts, account conversions or in combination with any other offer. Employees of Mountain America not eligible.

Reward is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Eligibility

Need to live in one of the following areas: Salt Lake County, Duchesne County, Wasatch County in UT census tract 940300, or Uintah County in UT census tract 940100 or 940200 or

I applied even though I don’t live in the area since I have an immediate family member that does have an account there. I had to input his name to continue.

There is no option to sign up for eStatements. Near the beginning of the process it shows this disclaimer:

By continuing with this application, you agree to receive your periodic statements electronically. You may switch to mailed statements at any time once your account is opened and activated. An additional fee may apply.

It gives the option to opt-out of overdraft. I did so. Hopefully that will prevent a hard pull.

Not during the sign up process. A CSR called me today to say account was approved, emailed me docs to digitally sign. She was going to call me back with my account / routing numbers once that was received. I will ask about it then.

Did confirm that they do a hard pull to Experian for any checking or savings. She couldn’t explain why though, but said they always did.

Just to add in my experiences (DP’s), and to add on from what Curmudgeon said:

I applied online last Saturday, and they did do a hard pull of my Experian CR that same day, per my “FreeCreditScore” account. Not a surprise – I can afford to take the credit hit. They called me two business days after applying to e-sign the disclosure docs via their website, and the next day after that to provide the account number.

I do not live or work anywhere near UT, but signed up as a National PTA member. I used the $150 Grass is Greener promo to apply that this article references, instead of the $100 PTA promo that is listed on another DOC article. I confirmed today I am still enrolled under the better promo code.

They do allow CC funding, but a 2.5% fee is incurred from the Credit Union side. That was a no-go, so I didn’t even ask how much they allow. They also charge a flat fee $4.95 for debit card funding, so that was a no-go as well.

Instead I used a ACH routing number to fund a whopping $10 over the phone, and even for that they had to get permission. They also gave me the option to go to a shared branch to fund, but I like the pajama factor of staying home to do my banking. (It is good though they are part of the CO-OP shared branching when I do need a teller, and when wearing regular clothes.)

After getting off the phone, I tried to use their phone app to deposit more funds. It failed with an error stating that my account was not enabled for mobile deposits. Apparently, per a CSR I contacted via the app, they don’t allow mobile deposits for 30 days after account opening if you applied for the account online.

If you are a PTA member, and willing to take the credit inquiry hit, this seems like a decent deal. As Curmudgeon listed, there is a $4 monthly fee, but if you actually use the account it is easy to avoid. I will update if things go south and I change my mind about MACU.

Once you have MACU online access, you do have the ability to opt into E-statements. Not sure if what Curmudgeon said is correct, that is automatically done for you. Maybe the online access estatement screen is outdated, but to be on the safe side I would opt in ASAP, especially since it is a requirement to get the bonus.

This hasn’t been the most straightforward process for me, partly because I didn’t read the directions. 🙂

When applying you get an account number. That is not the number to use for direct deposit / transfers though. If your account number is eight digits, then add 5010 to the front of your account number – i.e. 501012345678 when setting up direct deposit or transfers.

If your account number is less than eight, add zeros to the front, so 12345 becomes 00012345, then add the 5010 in front.

To follow up on Gadget’s post – it looked like e-statements were automatically selected when I signed up, but I think I remember checking a box to get them as well, so maybe it needs to be a separate step.

I don’t think I’m going to keep this account. The ACH system is really slow and the interface is kinda clunky.

DP for DD – My trial deposits less than $1 from Discover checking and my “local” credit union checking where enough to trigger the DD bonus. Bonus appeared only a few days after trial deposits hit the checking account. That is rare to see these bonuses post so quickly, but stuck here for 6 months as well because of the fine print. Oh well.

The $150 bonus was granted, so I can completely confirm national PTA member can get this bonus using this promo code (of course, they might get wise to it eventually – YMMV).

DP: Super fast payout = Trial deposits (less than $1) from Discover on 11/10 and my local credit union 11/14 triggered the bonus on 11/14. (I assume either would have worked, but I like to waste no time getting my connections setup)

I am out of state, and signed up as a National PTA member. I can completely confirm now that PTA members can join with his promotion, vice the normal $100 that is listed in another Doc article. By joining any local PTA, you become a member of the national PTA. (My PTA was $7, and they just need your name, address, and e-mail address)

Now it’s just a matter of maintaining the account for the 6 months, dodging the $4 per month fee by using the account. Shouldn’t be a problem, and even if I failed for a month or two it would still be a good bonus.

For anyone who did get signed up, they are changing their terms for the worse on this checking account as of April 1st. Looks to me it is becoming harder to keep the account free – higher balance, higher DD, or more transactions – your pick. Looks like I will be closing as soon as my 6 months are up. Guess they have to make their money back somehow. Early Details: https://macu.com/mystyle-update

Was able to PC to MyFree checking. Just took a 2 minute phone call. No mention of clawback, so should be good to go. Probably going to hang on to this account now, as it could serve as a good backup hub account. Also, it was a hard pull to open, so it’s not like I expect to be churning any future account bonuses with them.

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